Newspoll Survey: Killing Chicks 'Unacceptable'

Thursday, September 10th, 2009 - The Vegetarian/Vegan Society of Queensland

Preliminary results of a survey show that around 70% of Australians think killing male chicks as part of egg production is unacceptable.

This research was conducted prior to the release of a video last week showing chicks at an American hatchery being ground alive.

The survey, run by Newspoll for the Vegetarian/Vegan Society of Queensland, and funded by Voiceless, the animal protection institute, was conducted by telephone last month with a nationally representative sample of 1202 adults aged 18 and over.

The American company where the footage was taken said they kill about 30 million chicks every year by live grinding.

This is because many chicks are male, so can't produce eggs, and therefore are of no value to egg producers.

The practice of killing unwanted male chicks is routine in Australia as well as America. The Code of Practice for Domestic Poultry here describes 'quick maceration' as a 'recommended method' of killing chicks.

The American law professor and philosopher Gary Francione contends that these types of practices will continue as long as we regard animals simply as property.

He maintains that the fastest and simplest way for people to oppose these practices is to exclude animal products from their diets and in other areas of their life eg clothes.

Key results of the survey are expected to be released in November.

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The Vegetarian/Vegan Society of Queensland

We actively promote the vegan way of life as humane, healthy and environmentally sound. To this end, we give away thousands of free information packs, booklets and brochures every year and run stalls at various events, sometimes with food.Andrew BartlettP: 0418 743 789W:twitter.com/ozvegsurvey